


Downpour

by popsws



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Detective AU, M/M, Slow Burn, kpop
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-06 19:09:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20296510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/popsws/pseuds/popsws
Summary: Rain. All Hoseok could see was rain. All he could hear and feel was rain. A gunshot in the distance pushed his legs to rush faster, move quicker through the downpour as he rushed to find him. He was not going to be left alone, he was not going to become a mirror of the man he had grown to both love and despise more than anything. Screaming out his name he reloads his pistol. A scream replies to him.“Hyunwoo!” Another scream. “Hyunwoo, where are you?” Silence soon follows, but not before one last deafening gunshot. He will not be left alone. He will not.Hoseok, a new a budding detective can't wait to join his partner Hyunwoo on this new case. Trouble is, Hyunwoo doesn't match Hoseok's excitement and instead seems to wish he would disappear. Either way, they have to work together whether they like it or not.





	1. Chapter One

Rain. All Hoseok could see was rain. All he could hear and feel was rain. A gunshot in the distance pushed his legs to run faster, move quicker through the downpour as he rushed to find him. He was not going to be left alone, he was not going to become a mirror of the man he had grown to both love and despise more than anything. Screaming out his name he reloads his pistol. A scream replies to him. 

“Hyunwoo!” Another scream. “Hyunwoo, where are you?” Silence soon follows, but not before one last deafening gunshot. He will not be left alone. He will not. 

* * *

One Year Earlier…

Hoseok pulls down his umbrella before ducking under the cover of the pharmacy front. He curses the heavens for opening up on his first day on the job. Why did he even bother to style his hair if the rain was just going to ruin it? He's sure he looks like a drowned rat, and he can't help but feel embarrassed in front of his new colleagues. They, however, do not seem to even notice his presence. 

Four men stood huddled around the smashed glass of the crime scene window, talking to who Hoseok could only assume was the pharmacist on duty that night. He pauses to introduce himself but struggled to interrupt the conversation currently taking place. 

“So, the culprit wasn't wearing a mask?” Spoke the first man, who looked to be the chief of police from the badge that sat on the left of his chest. A shorter man, with brown side-swept hair and a focused look. Hoseok knew this to be Yoo Kihyun, as he studied from him and read up on his past cases only a few months ago before he finished school. He had been chief of police for only three years, the youngest to enter that position in a few decades, but he also proved to be the most promising chief to ever step foot in Seoul. He had an unbeatable record, an unstoppable detective squad and most importantly, a retired father who stood down from the same position three years ago. 

“No, he made zero effort to hide his face, that's why I didn't take him seriously until he pulled the gun out.” The pharmacist, a young woman who must of been in her early twenties, stood, clearly shaken up but unharmed from what Hoseok could see. 

“The gun that he left here, and we have in possession, correct?” This voice belonged to a man Hoseok has never seen before. He stood taller than the rest of the group, with broad shoulders and clean-cut light brown hair. His face remained unwavering as he spoke about the crime, he barely moved his head at all. To say Hoseok was taken back was an understatement. He was clearly experienced as a detective and one that he could not wait to learn from. 

There were two others stood listening to the conversation, both detectives, yet they were not nearly as focused or intimidating. 

A mess of orange curls stood atop of a smiling face, grinning in a way that suggested he was daydreaming of something far more interesting than the crime scene in front of him. He had prominent dimples that made Hoseok think that introducing himself to his new colleagues may not be as daunting as he first thought. 

That was until the final individual made their presence known, at the same time they (very loudly) made Hoseok’s presence known at the same time.

“Is that the newbie?” All heads turned in his direction, all wearing the same irritated face having been interrupted by Hoseok’s arrival. 

Kihyun looked him up and down, focusing on his uniform and badge. His reaction wasn’t clear, but he could tell he wasn't pleased with either him or the other loud detective. “Yeah, looks like it. Come in and listen, I'll talk you through everything once we have this statement”. 

“Ok chief, sorry chief” Hoseok tried and failed to save face as he stumbled into the pharmacy, knocking his shoulder on the doorway and awkwardly joining the rest of the group. 

The blonde detective that ruined Hoseok’s entrance snickered and glanced to the orange-haired man beside him. He assumed they were partners from their proximity and silently celebrated that he didn't have to deal with his obnoxious behaviour much more, and also that he would potentially be able to work with the other, older detective. 

The pharmacist continued to describe the crime. “They stole Clostridium botulinum, in a fairly large dose. Which is strange on its own, but the fact that they only stole that and no other needles or equipment is weird to me”.

“Wait, sorry what was that? What they stole.” the orange-haired man looked as puzzled as Hoseok felt at the moment, and he was relieved to know he wasn't the only one who didn't understand.

“Clostridium botulinum? It’s Botox.” Everybody looked more confused than before. 

“Why would someone steal Botox?” Kihyun began to write down information as he asked.

“Well most likely for the same reason as you would think, but he was young and did not look desperate for a facelift. We only keep it here because the surgery across the street orders it in. It’s strange that he knew it was here if I'm honest.” 

“We’re going to need a list of people who had access to that information.” The taller man speaks, the same stern expression as before. He clearly knows what he’s doing, and Hoseok wishes he could hold the same professionalism. 

“The surgery will have that, I’ll give you the number that we keep here for business calls. Do you need to know anything else?”

“No that will be fine, please keep in contact if you think of anything else, and we will probably be back for more information once we need it” Kihyun begins to walk away, yet Hoseok suddenly gets the stupid idea to speak, not being able to stop himself once the question arises in his mind. 

“How much Botox did he steal?” Everyone looked his way, once again, but this time he wasn’t going to risk looking away to see their reactions. 

“Well, all of it. There were around twelve kilograms of the stuff because we keep the surgery's supply here.” 

“Thank you, that will be all.” Kihyun ushered us away but didn’t seem to be upset at Hoseok’s question much to his relief. 

“What’s your name newbie?” Hoseok turned around to see the same orange hair from earlier, and beside him stood the loud detective. 

“Uh, it’s Hoseok. And you are?”

“I’m Detective Jooheon, and this is Minhyuk, my partner. Your partner is over there, Hyunwoo. He’s pretty, uh, quiet. So don’t expect much of a welcome from him.”

“Come on, Chief is giving me the evils over there” Minhyuk called as he walked in the direction of the other detectives. 

Hoseok felt conflicted. He was beyond pleased he got the partner he wanted. The stoic and professional detective that clearly knew exactly what he was doing. He would be fantastic to learn from. But the fact that he didn't introduce himself concerned him. Was he already angry at him? Probably. Or maybe he was just quiet like Jooheon had suggested. Both options weren't ideal as he had hoped to make some sort of bond with the person he would be working with for the foreseeable future. He made himself look awkward and rude. He would have to prove that he wasn't completely useless another time. For now, he just followed the others who were now grouped by the smashed glass near the entrance.

“So the gunshot that smashed the glass was the only shot fired right?” Hyunwoo was looking into the pile of glass, and with gloved hands, he picked up the shell of a bullet. 

Kihyun moved to join Hyunwoo in inspecting the bullet. “That’s what the victim said, they probably shot into the area to scare the pharmacist into moving quicker, but that's what alerted the couple in the apartment above to call the police, so why would they do it in the first place?” 

“Misfire?” Minhyuk enquired.

“No way, the pistol was a K5, they have tough triggers to stop that exact thing happening in the military.” Jooheon pauses, looking around the cracked glass he notices the CCTV camera sat alongside the doorway. “It wasn’t a misfire, maybe it was just a miss?”

Kihyun moves to inspect the camera, checking for any sign that it’s on or still functioning. “Get the footage and send it to Changkyun, if this caught our guy this case isn't going to take long.” Minhyuk makes his way over to the pharmacist and Kihyun turns to Hoseok. “Newbie, go with Hyunwoo and pick up any evidence and fingerprints that are left on the scene.” He turns to Hyunwoo, and sighs. “Don’t scare this one away like the last one, OK Grizzly?” 

“Stop calling me Grizzly.” 

“I’ll do that when you stop being a grumpy old bear, now hurry up, my wife is going to kill me if I'm not back before dinner again.”

“I’ll kill you first if you call me Grizzly again.”

“I heard that!”

Hyunwoo turns to look at Hoseok, his face as unchanged as the moment he first saw him. He said nothing and moves towards the forensics kit. He definitely isn't one for small talk. Too bad, Hoseok thinks. 

Hoseok catches up, grabs the magnesium powder before Hyunwoo can and smiles in his direction. 

“Hi! I’m Hoseok, I’m honoured to be your partner and I promise not to disappoint you, sir!” He holds out the powder for him to take and begins to pick up the other equipment. 

Silence is all that follows, and Hyunwoo grabs the powder and huffs. He doesn't even look in his direction before he walks off, leaving Hoseok’s smile to slide off his face. 

Grizzly was definitely an appropriate name for his new partner. Hoseok would say he hoped he was all bark and no bite, but he hadn't even barked at him. Just stared at him like he is the worst human being to enter his vision. 

The rest of the evening continued without any more awkward encounters unless you count three hours of complete silence while they collected fingerprints and tiny shards of glass as awkward. Which Hoseok definitely did. 

As they packed up the forensic equipment, Hoseok spotted Jooheon and Minhyuk also gathering their things across the shop floor. Choosing to escape the awkwardness that was Hyunwoo, he joined them and said his farewells. They gave sympathetic smiles and parted ways at the door. Hoseok attempted to follow suit, but before he could Kihyun took hold of his shoulder to stop him. 

“Look”, he started “I know Hyunwoo is intimidating, but he isn't a bad guy. I do want work to get done while you're on this force so don't give up trying to crack his shell. He’ll give up eventually. Good work today, by the way, you have potential.” He smiled and passed Hoseok the umbrella he had left by the door on his entrance into the crime scene. “See you tomorrow, officer”. 

“T-thank you chief, I won't let you down” Hoseok stuttered as he opened his umbrella and took a step into the downpour. 

Kihyun said nothing but waved with his back turned as he stepped into his car. Silence, something Hoseok realised he might have to get used to on this job. 

Getting into bed, Hoseok felt beyond defeated. Some would say his first day was a success, he got his work done and his new boss thinks he ‘has potential’. But Hoseok didn't see that. He saw a failed attempt to make friends with the man who is the human embodiment of his childhood role model, he saw himself repeatedly embarrassing himself in front of said role model over and over again on repeat, and he saw his partners disinterest in him as a sign that he didn't think he was good enough for this role. 

Wanting nothing more than to curl into a ball and disappear, Hoseok checked his phone again. The time flashed ‘12:04’ the arrival of the new day not nearly as comforting as he would have liked. Yet looking down at the photo of his sister and himself as children, his heart stops and his anger builds. 

He can’t give up. So he won't. He’s strong enough to do this job, but as he thinks that he can't help but ask himself if he's strong enough to see Hyunwoo again. Even thinking about him makes him hide in shame. He hopes he won’t be left alone with him for so long tomorrow, or see him at all for that matter. 

Maybe then he would actually be able to focus on his job. At this thought, he calms enough to finally sleep, with the hope of a new day and the idea that the other co-workers he has at the office won't be nearly as grumpy as ‘Grizzly’.


	2. Chapter Two

Walking into work the next morning held a lot more weight than the previous evening. He smiled at the receptionist and made his way over to the desk he was shown the last time he was here when he was offered the job after his interview, but on the inside, he felt his confidence crumbling. 

His desk was right where he left it, an empty chair, an almost empty desk, and a computer almost as old as he sat atop it. He looked to be the only one there, which did not surprise him considering the bus brought him to the office thirty-minutes earlier than his shift started. 

Taking this moment of peace he began to survey the area and try and decipher who sat where. He could tell that his worst nightmare had come true and that Hyunwoo was indeed sat opposite him. His desk sat almost empty, yet everything that was sat upon it looked almost untouched. He only had one piece of paper on top of his keyboard from the case yesterday. There wasn't a single hint that the man had a life outside of his job, which Hoseok took as him probably wanting to keep his private life very private. After all he wasn't the chattiest. 

The pair of desks on the other side of the room where the complete opposite. Both desks were as chaotically messy as the other, papers were scattered and unorganised, and most of them were not even related to a case. Hoseok could definitely see a printed out picture of two cats in the mess on one of the desks. He assumed they belong to Jooheon and Minhyuk.

Kihyun’s desk sat near the front of the office, with his name sat proudly near the front. He had a framed photo of his wife and daughter, and Hoseok took a second to notice how sweet they looked, and how one day he would live a life like that, once he was a little older. 

One desk, however, remained nameless. It sat in the far corner of the room, fairly tidy but unorganised in its own way. The first thing Hoseok noticed was the female anime figure that was placed in the corner of the desk. He didn't get time to notice much more before someone appeared from under the desk. 

“Agh!” Hoseok jumped back, not only shocked from the sudden appearance of someone else but also embarrassed to be caught snooping. The man was around his height, if not a little shorter, with black hair and a lip ring. He also had black painted nails. Hoseok thought he wasn't exactly the type of person you would expect to see in a police station. 

“...who are you? Are you looking for Kihyun? He doesn’t get here for like twenty more minutes.” 

“No, no I'm the uhh new detective? I’m Hoseok.” 

“Oh yeah, that makes sense.”

Hoseok paused, the mysterious guy just kept staring off into the distance. “And, who are you?”

“Changkyun. I do all the tech stuff around here.”

Changkyun. The name rang a bell, he must have been mentioned yesterday at some point. If he deals with the technology side of things he's sure he's going to become close with him pretty rapidly, considering its one side of being a detective he was never able to understand. 

“Well, it’s nice to meet you! Are you usually under your desk or is that just a today thing?”

“I dropped Ezra’s sword, I was just picking it up off the floor.”

“Who’s Ezra..? Wait, a sword?!”

“She’s from Fairy Tale 8,” he said, pointing to the figure sat on his desk. “And the sword is the size of your pinky, don't panic buddy. It fell off when Jooheon and Minhyuk were playing catch with her so I’m trying to glue it back on before work starts. Last time I messed with her during shift hours Kihyun hit me.”

Hoseok didn't want to ask what he meant by ‘messing’ with her, so he just nodded and began to ask more about the only person he remained truly curious about.

“So, what do you know about Hyunwoo?”

“Oh, no, we are not going there. That guy is scary and secretive. I'm the last person to join the team, well except for you so I really know nothing. He has said about six words to me in the six months I’ve been here so.”

“SIX months?”

“I’m not exaggerating. I can't help you, now are you going to get under this desk and help me find a tiny sword or not?”

Crawling under the desk, Hoseok thought about how humiliating this was. His second day as a detective, and he's under a desk looking for a tiny sword that belongs to an anime figure. However, he also felt a weird sense of comfort over the fact that he was one step closer to making a friend, and that's something he really needed to help him get through another day with Grizzly. 

This new guy was strange, but not in an uncomfortable way. He felt more approachable than anyone else on the team, and he was also the only person to open up to Hoseok in any way. Even if it was just their shared fear of Hyunwoo and his mysterious past. 

“Found i- ah fuck” Hoseok’s moment of victory was interrupted as he smashed his head into the bottom of the desk.

Changkyun put his hand over his mouth to suppress the giggles that flowed, but he did a poor job and Hoseok glared at him as he crawled out and began to stand. 

“Don’t laugh at me. I’m armed, see?” He said, pulling out the tiny sword and waving at toward Changkyun. 

“Hoseok put the tiny sword down” Turning his head, he spotted none other than Hyunwoo, stood with coffee and a disappointed frown. 

Stuttering, he turned to Changkyun and held out the figure's weapon, which the other gladly took without trying to hide their laughter in the slightest this time. 

Quickly moving to sit across from Hyunwoo at his desk, he began to apologise and explain that he wasn't trying to attack his co-worker and was instead just helping him find it in the first place, but as quickly as he began to explain, Hyunwoo stopped him by holding his hand up.

“I don't care what you were doing, but your shift started five minutes ago, so you should have been working. You would have got more of an earful if chief found you.” 

Hoseok thought for a moment, about how not only was that the most he had said to him, but also how that was strangely thoughtful of him. Maybe Kihyun was right, he probably is a better guy than he is leading on. Which means he most likely wants people to think he is rugged and harsh as his exterior so people avoid him. 

“..Oh! Well, thanks Hyunwoo. Won't happen again!” Hoseok smiled at Hyunwoo, to which Hyunwoo did not reciprocate and instead rolled his eyes and huffed. 

Back to normal then, but at least there were some minor improvements, he thinks. 

“Morning lovely people! How are we all feeling this fine day?” Hoseok shot his head around to see Jooheon walking in with coffee and a pink glazed donut. Minhyuk followed looking far less chipper. 

“Shut up Jooheon it's 7 am” he walked straight passed his desk and pulled a USB stick from his pocket and threw it to Changkyun. “CCTV footage from the pharmacy yesterday, look it over for me sweetcheeks?” 

Changkyun took the USB without looking at Minhyuk. “Call me that one more time and I'm calling HR again”

Jooheon cackled across the room and Minhyuk looked truly terrified for a moment. Hyunwoo looked completely disinterested, and Hoseok would think that he wasn't paying attention if it wasn't for the movement of his pupils between each person talking. 

He looked at Hyunwoo for a little while longer, at his facial features specifically. His eyebrows sat in a straight line, adding to the lack of emotion he showed. Yet although he eyebrows showed little emotion his eyes were a different story. They were a deep brown and the way his eyelids sat made him look as though he was always deep in thought. He had bags under his eyes, but they seemed to be more of a permanent feature than a direct cause of lack of sleep. Unless a lack of sleep was a permanent feature for Hyunwoo. 

His lips, however, were what caught Hoseok's eyes the longest, they were small but fit in the middle of his face. His lip line curving ever so slightly downward. A constant frown which made Hoseok wonder for a moment what he would look like smiling. He was exceptionally handsome, but he didn't get to think on that for much longer before Kihyun walked in. 

“Alright, what progress has been made?”

“None mate we started one minute ago.” Minhyuk was definitely not in a good mood this morning. 

Kihyun sent a side-eye in Minhyuk's general direction and began the brief the team on what he planned for today. “Changkyun, I need that footage looked at asap, and I need Hyunwoo to go down to Hyungwon and check to see if he got any hits back from the fingerprints yesterday, take Hoseok. Jooheon, call the surgery and see who could have known about the location of the Botox. Minhyuk...just drink some coffee or something and then help Jooheon once you're out of your funk. 

“Yes, sir!” Minhyuk begins to chug his coffee and leans back in his chair. The other two begin to type away at their computers and begin working. 

“Hoseok hurry up” Hyunwoo shouts from the hallway, already by the elevator. 

“Sorry!” He runs and just about makes it into the cramped space before the doors close on him. He knew that Hyunwoo was not going to keep the doors open for him. 

“Sorry, who is Hyungwon?” he asked as he calms his heart rate.

“The head of forensics. Why else would he be working on fingerprints?”

Hoseok winces, another reason for Hyunwoo to think he is completely brain dead. 

“Yes, sorry of course he is.” and he can't help but hope that he isn't as scary as Grizzly because he doesn't think he can deal with two of them at the same time. “You know, I really am thankful for earlier. I can’t afford to be caught out like that on my second day.”

“Well if you can't afford to be caught out, you shouldn't have been doing it in the first place.” and with that, the elevator doors opened, and Hyunwoo walked away towards some large glass doors that sat below a sign that read ‘Laboratory’.

‘Ouch’ is all that Hoseok could think before he dragged his feet behind his partner. They walked through the doors and into the laboratory.

The lab itself didn't seem too interesting, just white walls and white tables with a few large machines scattered around the room in various corners. The back of the lab looked more intriguing, as the forensics team was appearing to be doing tests on weapons and their impacts. Dummies were stood in a line filled with slashes and gunshots. He wanted to ask about that and made a note to mention it when there was time.

“Hyunwoo? Ah, glad you're here. Just got some interesting results back that you should see.” A very tall and lanky man came around the corner, with blonde hair that was curled and a long white lab coat on. “And this is?”

Hoseok managed to introduce himself without embarrassing himself for the first time, smiling at who he could only assume was Hyungwon. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Hyungwon. This is an interesting first case you’ve been put on, a pharmaceutical robbery. You don’t see them often and they usually lead to something a lot bigger than they first appear.”

“You had results to show us?” Hyunwoo interrupts what Hoseok had found to be a pretty interesting anecdote and he feels embarrassed for a moment on behalf of his partner. But Hyungwon just rolls his eyes and moves to grab a piece of paper from the printer, clearly used to his rudeness by now. 

“Yes. DNA and fingerprint data came back with one hundred percent matches to a Mr. Park Chinmae. He has one previous conviction for public intoxication a few years back, he’s never served jail time but he’s on the system.”

“Lucky for us” Hoseok sighs and he takes the paper that Hyungwon was holding out to read some of the information, not that he could understand much of it, but it was worth it to seem somewhat engaged. 

“Is there anything else you need to show us? If not I better get this back to the chief.” Hyunwoo says as he turns to walk away.

“Nope, just testing the gun for any more gunpowder residue. Nothing you would be interested in. See you both later.”

Hoseok smiles and waves, and is surprised but delighted when Hyungwon smiles back. Another potential friend? He hopes so. If half of the police force is going to hate him, he might as well befriend the half that doesn't.

Walking back into the office space, the team seemed to be looking at the CCTV footage from last night on a large screen in the middle of the room. Its paused just as he was about to pull the trigger, gun pointed straight at the lens. And a completely clear view of the culprits face. 

“That our guy?” Hyunwoo asks.

“Looks like it,” Jooheon starts, before he moves to play the tape. “But look at this.” Just as he presses play, the man in the tape moves his head up towards the glass, away from the camera, and at that moment he shoots towards the glass. 

“Weird” Hoseok thinks aloud. 

“Yes, very weird. He had a clear shot of the camera here” he replays the video again “but whatever he saw outside made him shoot.” 

"What would have made him do that when he knew if he didn't shoot the camera he would get caught?" Minhyuk began to ponder. 

Everyone pauses for a moment, Hyunwoo looks the most concerned. But just as he was about to speak, he stops. And begins to talk to Kihyun about the DNA results. 

“Well, why don't we just ask him.” He looks to Hoseok who passes the paper to Kihyun. “Park Chinmae, the results we got from fingerprints and DNA. He lives close by, let's go pay him a visit?” 

Kihyun nods “Hyunwoo, Hoseok and I will go collect the perp, Minkyuk, try and contact the surgery again to get that list of people who knew about the stash in the first place.”

As they all move towards the door, Hyunwoo pulls at Hoseok’s arm just before they reach the door. “Look, things might get messy out there today. I just want you to prepare yourself.”

He stands, shocked for a moment, and then decides he isn't going to waste the one moment where Hyunwoo is opening up to him, even if it's the slightest amount. “I know, I’ve got your back though and you have mine. Partners right?”

Something flashes behind Hyunwoo’s eyes, but his face remains unchanged. “Yeah, right. Come on.”

And with that, they head towards the exit, headed to Hoseok's first arrest. Filled with a new form of adrenaline, he hopes this will go as smoothly as the rest of the case has, but something tells him that might not be the case. 


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blood and mouth injuries mentioned so please don't read on if you don't like that!!

The noise of the car's sirens fill Hoseok's ears, but as he looks out the window onto the city of Seoul, he loses himself for a moment and he thinks for the first time about what he has gotten himself into. He always knew this job would be dangerous. He's a detective in the capital city of South Korea. Where he lives isn't dangerous, but it's the hub for some of the largest and most major crimes in the country. 

He knows he is in danger every day on this job. But then he reminds himself of the people he's protecting. They aren't doing his job, but without him, they are still in danger. He is here for them. And for her. He doesn't care that he is in danger. He is exactly where he is supposed to be, in a police car on his way to arrest a suspect of a robbery. 

He looks over to Hyunwoo, knuckles white as he grips the steering wheel. A focused look on his face, and the closest thing to an emotion he has seen all day. Concern. He wonders if cases like this are the only thing that makes him feel. If they're the only thing that brings out emotions in him. And at that thought Hoseok grimaces, because he must have seen some terrible things if that was true. 

Hoseok admires Hyunwoo already. He is professional, precise, smart and focused. He is the perfect detective and in the day he's known him he has already proved himself. But Hoseok does not want to become Hyunwoo. He does not want to lose himself in this job, he wants to stay Hoseok, and he vows to himself that he will. 

The car stills, Hoseok holds his breath. This is it. His first arrest. He should be excited, and a part of him is, but fear is natural and he hopes his fear helps him more than it hinders him. 

Kihyun’s voice comes through on the car radio as his car pulls up behind theirs. “You both know the plan, in and out. Nice and quick. Hoseok, stay behind us where you can, and be vigilant. Ready?”

“Ready chief” Hyunwoo, grabs the radio and moves out of the car. Hoseok follows. All three of them are wearing bulletproof vests and are armed. The thought makes Hoseok more on edge than protected, but he makes an effort not to think about it. 

The suspect lives in a run-down area of Seoul, in an apartment building that is at least ten stories tall. He is located on the second floor, and lives alone, at least that is what the landlord has told them.

They move into the building, Kihyun flashes his badge at the receptionist who lets them use the stairs to avoid suspicion. 

The walk up those two flights of stairs was deadly silent. They moved quickly, but the time seemed to drag on for Hoseok. As they exited the staircase and walked towards the door labeled ‘2C’, Kihyun looked the other two detectives over before he knocked on the door. 

One knock. No answer. Surprise surprise. 

A second knock. Still no answer. Kihyun knocked one more time while calling out “It’s the police, open up!”

Kihyun turned to Hyunwoo who nodded and grabbed the door handle, he smashed his shoulder into the door twice, and the door broke open but only slightly. On the floor sat piles of junk, the door itself must not have been opened for at least a month considering the amount of mail that sat on the floor. 

The apartment was completely dark, all the curtains were closed and there were no lights on. From what Hoseok could see, the piles of junk were not limited to just the doorway, as he could see papers covering the living room floor, along with boxes and smashed glass in the hallway. 

“Mr Park, its the police, we have a warrant.” Hyunwoo called out and he kicked the piles of mail out of the way and began to enter the building. Kihyun followed and Hoseok cautiously followed after that. 

Eerie silence flowed through the building, the three men could only hear their own footsteps and the faint city noises through the closed windows. The entire apartment smelled strangely Hoseok. It did not smell bad but instead smelled metallic and slightly of light disinfectant. It reminded him more of a hospital than a dirty apartment.

Hyunwoo signaled for the small group to split up, Kihyun headed towards the kitchen and Hoseok followed Hyunwoo to the living room. 

It was the same as the rest of the apartment. Papers and various boxed filled the floor. It was messy, but not dirty. There was no trash or food in the area. Just paper. Hoseok picked up a discarded piece and read it. It was an eviction notice, dated only a month prior. He picked up another which explained Mr. Park had three months left to pay off his debts to the city bank. 

“So this might explain the robbery, he's in debt” Hoseok showed Hyunwoo the paper who looked it over quickly. 

“It explains some of it. But why a pharmacy? What happened to robbing banks?”

Hoseok nodded and continued the search. While looking around the living room he spotted a small drop of blood on the wall. He immediately called over Hyunwoo, who looked at it for a few seconds.

“It’s not dried yet, this apartment more lived-in than we think. Guns out.”

Hoseok gulped, but followed the orders and took out his gun. He kept his finger well away from the trigger and held it firmly towards the floor. He scanned the room a few more times to see if he could find any more signs of life or blood. He looked to Hyunwoo who seemed to be doing the same thing on the other side of the room. 

As he looked away, his eyes fixated on a small beacon of light at the end of a tiny corridor in between the kitchen and the living room. He walked over towards it, slowly, forgetting to alert Hyunwoo or Kihyun. The walls were bare of photos or pictures of any kind. It wasn't until he looked down he noticed they had all been smashed and knocked onto the floor. 

He began to take another step but he paused. Another small drop of blood. It looked red and just as fresh and the other. He stepped over the drop and continued walking towards the door. As he arrived, he could just see a small bedside table and a bedpost through the tiny gap in the ajar door. 

He took a breath, and lifted his empty hand and slowly pushed the door open. His eyes adjusted to the room, and his focus landed on the bed in the middle of the room.

Just as he did this, another pair of eyes snapped up and met his. Hoseok flinched as an arm pushed in front of him. He turned slowly to meet another pair of eyes. It was Hyunwoo, holding out a protective arm across his chest to stop him from walking any further. 

Looking back into the room, Hoseok could see a middle-aged man sat on the bed, with his legs and arms crossed. He recognised his as the man from the CCTV tapes. His eyes wide open but his mouth shut in a line. His eyes were sunken into his face, and his hair was sticking in every direction. Almost as if he had been pulling at it, trying to pull it out of his scalp. He smiled, ever so slightly, and began to stand up from the bed. 

Hyunwoo pushed Hoseok back into the hallway and pulled his gun out, aiming it at the suspect. 

“You need to stop right there, don’t move.” He stopped. And at that Hyunwoo called Kihyun over, only to see he was stood behind Hoseok also with his gun pointed at the floor, but ready to fire if needed.

The man-made no effort to move, or resist. He instead looked over to Hoseok and his smile grew. He began to show his teeth, but before he could smile fully, a small trickle of blood escaped from the side of his mouth. 

“Ki-Kihyun, call an ambulance” Hoseok stuttered as he began to shake. 

All other sounds faded, Kihyun called for an ambulance over the radio and Hyunwoo began to make the arrest. All Hoseok could think about was the horrific blood coated smile of the man in front of him. At that moment he realised that this was not going to be as simple as he had hoped and that his first-ever case had just hit its first hurdle.

Hyunwoo and Kihyun began to ask the suspect questions, but he did not reply. He never opened his mouth fully, just continued to smile at Hoseok. The three detectives all shared a look that made Hoseok understand that he wasn't the only one unnerved by everything that was going on.

Hyunwoo did not take his eyes off Hoseok. He was sure it wasn't the goriest thing he had seen on the job, but as it was Hoseoks first arrest it shocked him more than he would like to admit. 

“Hoseok” Hyunwoo called to get his attention off of the suspect “Go to the door and wait for the paramedics ok?”

Wordlessly, he turned and walked away from the bedroom. His mind, however, could not stop spinning with questions. Why was he bleeding that way? Was he dying? Did he do that to himself? He didn't expect to see something like that, not for a simple robbery arrest. The messy apartment, the bills. They were all expected. But not this, he had not prepared himself. He should have listened when Hyunwoo told him it could get messy. 

He made his way to the emergency staircase and began his climb downstairs to meet the paramedics. Once he reached the bottom floor and made it to the exit, Hyunwoo, Kihyun and the suspect all exited the elevator. The paramedics met the four of them at the door and took the suspect to the ambulance. 

“We have to follow in the police car, but I'm going to drop you back at the station,” Hyunwoo said as he walked over to Hoseok. 

“No!” He looked over to his partner, finally snapping out of the daze he was in, “I’m fine now, I need to get used to this. I’m going with you.”

Hyunwoo looked to Hoseok but said nothing. He had given him an order, one to attempt to preserve his sanity in some way. But he had outright denied him. He wasn't sure how this would pan out for him, as Hyunwoo didn't seem like the type to take disrespect very well. But to Hoseok's surprise, he simply nodded and walked over to the car. 

The drive to the hospital was silent. But this time it felt different. The car was silent because Hyunwoo was giving Hoseok space, not the other way around like before. 

Hoseok was beyond confused by Hyunwoo. He was harsh, strict, emotionally void and focused. But above all, Hoseok was learning he was slightly unpredictable. He thought he had given up on his dream to bond with his partner. To create an unstoppable team between the two of them. And above all make a friend that he can trust. He did give up on that dream mere seconds after talking to Hyunwoo. But in the car, as the radio hums in the background and Hoseok tries to calm his breathing, he had changed his mind. 

He could trust Hyunwoo. At least a little bit. Now all he had to do was to prove to Hyunwoo that he can trust him too. 

Pulling up to the hospital was even more nerve-wracking than pulling up at the apartment building a few hours prior. They were slightly later than Kihyun, Hyunwoo had taken a back road and Hoseok assumed it was to give him more time to calm down. He appreciated that.

“Alright, let's go see what's going on,” Hyunwoo said as he stepped out of the car. He didn't give Hoseok the option to leave, and he also appreciated that. 

“What do we do if he isn't ok?” 

“We call Hyungwon.”

Hoseok didn't need to ask him to elaborate on that. 

They stepped into the hospital to find Kihyun waiting for them at the receptionist desk. He beckoned for the two of them to follow him, which they did. As he began to explain the situation, Hoseok tried his hardest to focus now, knowing it was vital that he did to prove that Hyunwoo didn't make a mistake in bringing him here. 

“Well, he’s fine.”

“Fine? Since when was bleeding from the mouth considered fine?” Hyunwoo asked as he took the patient file from Kihyun.

“Well, there's nothing wrong with his blood flow, or his organs. He’s stable.” Kihyun sighed before looking between Hyunwoo and Hoseok. “But, they did find out why his mouth is bleeding, and it causes a lot more problems for us.”

“Spit it out chief.”

“..His tongue is missing.”

“Tongue?” Hoseok almost spat out. 

“It was forcefully cut out, by somebody else.”

All three of the detectives stilled for a moment. This meant many things, none of them were good for them. And they all confirmed that this case was far from finished.

“How can they be sure of that? What if he just wanted to throw us off?” Hyunwoo enquired.

“It was done cleanly with a pair of scissors in one go. No one does that to himself and stays awake enough to finish the job.” 

Hoseok paled, and at that moment, he wished he had gone back to the police station. 


End file.
